Movie Review: ‘World War Z’

Last night I was invited to a media screening of the new Brad Pitt film World War Z and after all of the gossip and subsequent promo for the film, I knew I wanted to watch it as soon as possible. Because I haven’t yet read the book, I knew that I’d have to base my opinion of the story solely on the movie version so I went into the theater last night with a completely open mind. That said, with all the chatter about reshoots and problems with the production, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was a wholly entertaining zombie movie that delivered from beginning to end. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I really liked this movie.

My favorite kinds of zombie movies are the ones where the undead attack very quickly and very violently (I think 2 of my fave zombie movies of all time are 28 Days Later and the recent remake of Dawn of the Dead). World War Z features these fast-running zombies and while purists may prefer the classic lumbering zoms, I much prefer the manic ones. The action in WWZ gets started really quickly into the film. With very little explanation shizz starts to go down … and very quickly … which I love. Very shortly after the movie starts OMG THERE ARE ZOMBIES EATING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE AND EXPLOSIONS GOING OFF ALL OVER THE PLACE AHHHHHHHHH! It’s an adrenaline rush that gets transferred to the audience because things get started so quickly, you don’t have time to do anything but panic right along with the characters on screen. There are more than enough suspenseful parts in the film that will make you jump out of your seat. I screamed so loudly during one scene that I embarrassed myself profusely. I kept trying to play off like I was only kidding but, I’m not kidding, I jumped out of my seat more than once. Not only did I find the action exciting but I also found the story compelling. There aren’t very many original ideas left when talking about the zombie apocalypse but WWZ manages to present a feasible explanation for what takes place in the movie (which is due, I’m assuming, to the source material book and its author). Yes, there are some things that may make you roll your eyes but not nearly enough of them to be a negative distraction. Brad Pitt’s character is THE LUCKIEST MAN in the world thruout this movie so you kinda have to go with the fact that things tend to work out for him (this is where some eye-rolls may come into play) … but as the hero character, it’s kinda what we want to see. World War Z doesn’t break any revolutionary ground in zombie storytelling but it does provide excellent entertainment. I hope people give this movie a shot because my sense is that most people will enjoy it as much as I did. This is a movie that I would recommend to any zombie fan. I enjoyed the hell out of World War Z, I think you will, too.

On the personal front, I’m happy to share that my dear Aussie friend Kirsten has returned to the US for a few weeks and she will be making her temporary LA homebase here with me in my home. She picked me up from the airport on Sunday and we spent much of Monday just settling in together. She and I met up with Darion after the movies last night and reunited the founding members of my beloved Le Gang TM:

The 3 of us have other fun stuff planned as our 6 year Friendiversary approaches next week. We kicked off Kirsten’s visit with a nice toast last night. THEN I came home to find preview DVDs of Dexter season 8 in my mailbox so … yeah, my Monday was pretty swell.

Tonight I’m planning to have dinner with a friend so it looks to be a nice Tuesday ahead. I hope you are having a great day today :)

Great review! As a huge fan of zombie movies (28 Days Later is my fave) I, too, prefer the zombies to be fast moving (except in the case of Shaun of the Dead in which their lumbering is funny). This movie is a must see for me this weekend. As a fan of the genre, I’m glad the movie made you scream! I have high hopes for this one!

Brittany

I’m going to a screening tonight. I’m pretty excited.

Brittany

Maybe I was expecting too much from this movie but really I didn’t dig it. I thought the characters were all pretty flat. :/

@Brittany — I agree about the flatness, the only character that really got any focus was Brad’s. But, for me, since it’s a fast-paced zombie movie, I think it wouldn’t have worked if they spent too much time developing characters that didn’t get much screen time overall.

Jax Medina

Can’t wait to see it. I haven’t read the book either, but friends have told me it’s written like interviews with survivors. Kind of like A Night To Remember (based on the Titanic) has interviews with survivors. I’ll probably read it after I see the movie. :)

jill

Trent, you just made me giggle when you were describing your movie ‘scared the bejezuz outta me’ scream because I’ve done that too! Thank you for brightening my day. :)